Early this morning around 3:30am we embarked on a journey to visit some friends in Tennessee while taking the kids on a homeschool field trip to visit some Civil War sites.

On the way, we stopped in a little town called Covington, Georgia.

The significance of this particular town is the Twelve Oaks original house that is portrayed as Ashley's home in the 1939 American epic historical romance film, "Gone with the Wind."

While we were taking pictures of this famous house, we noticed a historical portion of land across from Twelve Oaks displayed white crosses representing soldiers who fought for our country in various wars.

As I took this picture of my kids in front of these crosses of soldiers who died, along with the actual house from 'Gone with the Wind' representing the Civil War era, I paused with heartfelt gratitude for those who sacrificed their lives to bring secure freedom to our country.

Both of my Grandfathers, as well as my wife's Grandfathers, served in the Armed Forces during WWII.

They were ordinary men, who served their country by willingly going to war to defend our freedom, which made them extraordinary.

We are thankful to them, as well as all who have served our country in some capacity, to fight to keep America free.

Let us be in a constant state of thankfulness, not just on this holiday, but every day to those who have made it possible for us to enjoy the freedom we have today!

- Dr. Derek Taylor, DC